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Today I pray, O Lord, for the gift of being realistic aside from being faithful. Your words have jolted me to some realities I have taken for granted when I thought faith could take care of everything in this journey with you.
St. Paul has every reason to call the Galatians “stupid” — and so are we!
O stupid Galatians! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. I want to learn only this from you: did you receive the Spirit from works of the law, or from faith in what you heard? Are you stupid? After beginning with the Spirit, are now ending with the flesh?
Galatians 3:1-3
Like the Galatians, despite our claims of having strong faith, we are easily misled into other beliefs, doubting our very faith in you, Jesus because we lack the conviction of standing by what we believe due to our failure to nurture and deepen your gift of faith in us.
Teach us, Jesus, to cultivate our faith in you by continuing to know you by studying further the teachings of the Church, the catechism and most specially those found in the Sacred Scriptures.
Above all, may learn to deepen our faith in you by persevering in our prayers not only to obtain what we ask for but most of all to deepen our relationship with you.
So many times, we forget that faith and prayer are not for obtaining things we need but to relate personally and meaningfully to you and with others!
No wonder, we also forget because of our misdirected faith that we are your disciples and you are the Lord, that we can only “ask” and never demand nor even command you for anything.
Jesus said to his disciples: “Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,’ and he says in reply from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.”
Luke 11:5-8
Remind us Jesus that it is YOU whom we must ask and will surely receive; it is also YOU whom we must seek and will surely find; and finally, YOU are the door we must knock to be opened to welcome us.
O dear Jesus, make my faith lively and realistic in you, like a door leading me to more openings, more realizations, and more of YOU! Amen.
